DogStarMan
08 May 2003, 06:00 AM
All this talk about computers slowing down, hanging, etc reminded me of something. I found a method for cleaning your registry which doesn't require some questionable program. (ok - well, it requires Windows...) I found this on the PC Mechanic forums, posted by a 'puter tech who goes by the name reboot. BE ADVISED: IT MAY TAKE SEVERAL HOURS TO COMPLETE!! DON'T
shut off your pc - even if it seems to 'hang'. Just leave it alone; it'll finish.
Disclaimer: This is for advanced users only. If you don't feel comfortable editing your registry, you should use a utility like regclean.
This method is virtually foolproof for cleaning the registry, without the dreaded crashes associated with editing it.
Follow the instructions exactly!
Beware, this may take some hours to complete, depending on fragmentation of your HD, size of your vcache, size of HD, number of programs you have.
Shut down everything in the taskbar.
Do a thorough scandisk.
Do a thorough defrag.
Copy SYSTEM.DAT and USER.DAT to your root C: drive. (they're in the c:\windows directory)
START > RUN > REGEDIT.EXE
Select REGISTRY > EXPORT REGISTRY
At the flashing cursor, type: C:\TEMP.REG and hit Enter.
START > SHUTDOWN > RESTART in DOS MODE (NOT A DOS BOX in Windows)
At the C:\Windows prompt, type: REGEDIT /C C:\TEMP.REG
Wait several hours.
When it completes, type EXIT to return to windows.
Remember, this could take several hours to complete. Even if it seems to hang, leave it and walk away, it will work.
It seems to hang around 20%, and again at about 80%, this is normal, and it will continue!
Providing your system does not overheat, and crash, it will work.
When it's done, compare the size of your old user.dat and system.dat files (in root C to the new ones in the C:\windows dir. Remember that this is pure text, and a 2k difference is a lot of data.
If everything is working fine, delete user.dat, system.dat, and temp.reg from the root c dir.
Cheers, and good luck.
p.s. There is no software anywhere that will clean out the registry of invalid references like this method, and this is free!
I have tried this myself on my Win98 box at home, and can vouch for it working. Took me about six hours to complete. Have fun!
shut off your pc - even if it seems to 'hang'. Just leave it alone; it'll finish.
Disclaimer: This is for advanced users only. If you don't feel comfortable editing your registry, you should use a utility like regclean.
This method is virtually foolproof for cleaning the registry, without the dreaded crashes associated with editing it.
Follow the instructions exactly!
Beware, this may take some hours to complete, depending on fragmentation of your HD, size of your vcache, size of HD, number of programs you have.
Shut down everything in the taskbar.
Do a thorough scandisk.
Do a thorough defrag.
Copy SYSTEM.DAT and USER.DAT to your root C: drive. (they're in the c:\windows directory)
START > RUN > REGEDIT.EXE
Select REGISTRY > EXPORT REGISTRY
At the flashing cursor, type: C:\TEMP.REG and hit Enter.
START > SHUTDOWN > RESTART in DOS MODE (NOT A DOS BOX in Windows)
At the C:\Windows prompt, type: REGEDIT /C C:\TEMP.REG
Wait several hours.
When it completes, type EXIT to return to windows.
Remember, this could take several hours to complete. Even if it seems to hang, leave it and walk away, it will work.
It seems to hang around 20%, and again at about 80%, this is normal, and it will continue!
Providing your system does not overheat, and crash, it will work.
When it's done, compare the size of your old user.dat and system.dat files (in root C to the new ones in the C:\windows dir. Remember that this is pure text, and a 2k difference is a lot of data.
If everything is working fine, delete user.dat, system.dat, and temp.reg from the root c dir.
Cheers, and good luck.
p.s. There is no software anywhere that will clean out the registry of invalid references like this method, and this is free!
I have tried this myself on my Win98 box at home, and can vouch for it working. Took me about six hours to complete. Have fun!